Just a little background; I have a 4 1/2 yr old Mustang I adopted as a yearling. Did all her groundwork & had a friend put 60 days on her about a year ago. She did very well, was trail ridden extensively, but bucked my friend off about 6 weeks into the process, resulting in several fractured ribs and a concussion. The friend rode her back to camp that day (they were out on the trail with friends). In her defense, the friend was ponying another horse from Bella and that horse got around behind her, the lead rope got up under Bella's tail and she freaked. I brought Bella back home & have been on her 15-20 minutes at a time in the backyard maybe a dozen times since then. I am 53 and SCARED, even though she has never done anything with me to justify that. I have put hundreds of miles on my RMH, and she does spook once and a while, but she is not terribly graceful & I have no trouble staying on. Bella, on the other hand, is VERY athletic & can turn inside out when she feels like it......I'm worried I'm going to get hurt when she does. Anyway (so much for a LITTLE background, lol). Went for a ride yesterday with friends, one of whom offered to ride Bella. He pulled her out of the pasture, saddled her up & we rode for 3 hours (4 of us). She was a doll! Down the road, thru town, cross country and down to the river and back. She looked at a few things and "blew", but never spooked or did anything stupid. Weather was in the 70's, and breezy; we just walked with a little lazy trotting thrown in. I am so proud of my girl! Now if I can get over this stupid mental block I have an actually enjoy her! Any tips?

It may be that you have more of a survival instinct than a mental block. I think that you should just continue to take her out on many, many rides. If you can get your friend to ride her, so much the better. I think that you did a good thing to take it slow and easy on the trail. A lot of people get all excited and start galloping green horses on a trail ride. This can get them spooked and lead to problems.

When you were on her for the short periods in your yard, did you feel better at the end then when you started? If so, then why not continue to do that and stretch the time out (even if its 30 seconds) each ride? Nobody said you have to do 3 hour rides in order to have fun.

Nothing wrong with being afraid, as long as you can acknowledge it and move past it (and doesn't have to be all at once). If you can't, then seems like either not riding her or rehoming her to someone who does enjoy her would be in both your best interests.

I did ride her a few minutes this evening, bareback in the backyard. My fear issues are fairly new (within the last few years). I am not a novice rider, nor is this my first green horse (she will be my last, however). I know I can get over this...I am just going to have to push myself through it :(

As I have gotten older, I have had less interest in training green horses. It was a better financial decision for me to send my horse to a professional trainer rather than to risk getting injured and being out of work. If your horse is doing that well, she may be good to go. If she is giving you problems, you might want to consider send her to a trainer.

It sounds like you know what your problem is and you are working on it. Just as others have said saty where you are comfortable riding her and increase your time slowly. Eventually you wil gain your trust with her. It sounds as if you just need to bond more so you can trust her and her you. Stay where you and her are comfortable and it will happen over time.

I can relate to your problem. As the others said...go slow...don't do more than you are comfortable with.

Sounds like she she bucked it was for a very specific reason - she didn't just spook and start bucking. Ponying and rope under tail could have thrown lots of horses into that reaction.

Keep working at your comfort level with her. Maybe switch horses on the trail. Let your friend ride her out for an hour or so. Then when you are comfortable with how she is behaving...switch and go down the trail even if it is just for a few minutes. Knowing you can get off and switch may make you comfortable enough to keep going.

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